Tech

LAS VEGAS — What if your child had to walk 5,000 steps in a day before she was allowed to watch cartoons? What if an hour-long bike ride could earn your child an hour of video games — and a few new levels in that game — on his Nexus 7?

That's the idea behind ibitz, a new fitness tracker that not only keeps track of how active your child is, but lets him or her earn access to new levels in a favorite video game, or time in front of the television based on how active they've been during the day.

Available for both children and adults, the ibitz tracker snaps on your shoe and keeps track of your physical activity throughout the day. The device syncs with Bluetooth 4.0 devices such as your phone or tablet. Much like other fitness devices, it lets you know how active you've been in a particular day, how many steps you've taken, and how close you are to reaching any goals you've set for yourself.

For kids, how active they've been in a day is represented on the screen in the form of a Tamagotchi-esque pet. An optional Android and Google TV app can tie that physical activity to a smartphone or tablet or even your TV, and allow your child to earn time — or unlock features such as texting — with those devices based on the child's physical activity. Parents can also opt to allow their children to earn prizes from Amazon (which the parent pays for) by achieving certain fitness goals.

"Kids looks at it as a game," Rich Schmelzer, CEO of GeoPalz tells Mashable. Schmelzer is working with more than 25 game developers who are showing off at CES games that work along with the tracker.

"Game developers are really excited about it," says Schmelzer. Many of the games are titles that are already out there. ibitz activity unlocks new levels and features in those games, however, that were previously not available.

For adults, the app displays your steps, distance traveled and overall health, for not only yourself but for your family as well. You can also remotely monitor a family member's activity, so if you see your child has spent most of the day on the couch, you can suggest he go outside and play for a few hours before watching any more TV.

Using the parent app doesn't require that you own an adult ibitz device. If Mom or Dad already own another fitness tracker such as a Nike Fuelband or FitBit, then they can use that to track their fitness goals alongside their child's.

A donation platform allows schools and organizations to link into fitness data to fundraise. A high-tech version of fundraising walks of the past, individuals can pledge money based on a child or group meeting a daily goal. The group function can also be used to track the collective progress of clubs and non-fundraising organizations. Anything from a running group to a weight-loss group can use it to see how each individual's activity compares to others in the group — for instance, who really runs the most in your group? — and see how the group is doing as a whole.

The ibitz will be available later this year in two versions: the ibitz PowerKey and ibitz Unity. Priced at $34.99, the PowerKey is designed for children and is capable of tracking between 165-170 steps per minute. The $49.99 Unity is slightly more powerful, and is capable of tracking between 185-200 steps per minute. A similar child pedometer, made by the company GeoPalz, is available now.

What do you think about the idea of turning fitness into a game? Would you like to reward your child with TV or phone time based on reaching certain fitness goals? Let us know what you think in the comments.

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